Terminator Salvation

[Sady]

I saw this on Friday and I'm sorry but this movie was mediocre at best... I know its a summer action movie so you're expected to throw logic and reason out the door but seriously... I came in expecting a very thin plot and some decent action and that's pretty much what I got.

The major problem I've had with the terminator series since the begining is this; if they designed and built the terminators to be super efficient killing machines then why do they always opt to gingerly throw the target against the wall rather then rip their fucking heads off!!! I'm sorry, but anyone that gets into melee range with a super strong/tough/agile highly trained combatant is going to lose, especially since these machines wouldn't be programmed to "toy" with their pray. But I digress...

I blame Christian Bale for "encouraging" a major rewrite. IIRC, it was posted here in BG that John Connor's role was originally to be much smaller in the movie but Bale insisted that his character be front and center stage. Honestly, I think the fame he's recieved from The Dark Knight has gone to his head and he somehow thinks he's the Jesus of theatrical reboots.

[arus2001]

To be fair, I don't think many would give a shit about a Terminator movie that doesn't involve the Connors (and by extension, Kyle) to some meaningful degree. They're as important to the franchise as the machines themselves. Far as the time travel goes, I could see it kicking off for reasons other than saving Sarah Connor, like Kyle getting access to the machine and just wanting to GTFO of an apocalypse and coincidentally knocking up Sarah in the process. The events just wind up refining themselves into future uncertainties as the loops repeat and we're just kind of focused on one or two of those paths.

I'm kind of torn on this movie, overall. I don't feel like anything happened with the main story of the series, but at its simplest, it does give us a bit of a staging ground if future sequels depicting the war come of it. Oh well, maybe we'll see SCC continued sometime.

[Max™]

Honestly, I think the fame he's recieved from The Dark Knight has gone to his head and he somehow thinks he's the Jesus of theatrical robots.

FIXED THAT FOR YOU

Why not send a nuke back in time to kill Sarah Connor, that's too easy huh?


Causality is not as simple as we assume, is all I have to say about the whole time travel shit.

Also: is there a law of conservation for information?

If I receive a signal about how to build a time machine, build the machine, travel back in time and send a signal out about how to build a time machine, where did the information come from?

[ZarakiKujata]

Why not send a nuke back in time to kill Sarah Connor, that's too easy huh?

organic matter onry blah blah blah but rly Terminators should have a self destruct feature w/ their nuclear cores..

[Wulfgang]

I'm a long time Terminator fan; saw T2 when I was 5 with my dad and fell in love with it. That said, I thought this movie sucked dick. T3 was far superior to this for anyone looking for a familiar reference point.

[Rhinox]

Hah.

[Null]

As a long time Terminator fan, T2 was a childhood favorite so I pretty much had to watch this. In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as 90% of the people in this thread make it out to be. It wasn't great by any means, guess I just went in not expecting much because of the reviews and got what I expected. Easy to turn off your mind and watch. Just don't understand why the first model (Marcus) was so much more advanced and life like then any other models, even the ones they make 10-20 years down the road.

Guess they could just chalk it up to them not wanting to make em that way again in fear of them turning out like Marcus and fighting against em.

[Max™]

Not sure how a time travel device could distinguish between organic and inorganic matter, it's all the same fundamental stuff.

I guess I never caught that statement, but it's pretty ridiculous.

[Null]

Same thing I've always wondered. But hey, if they could get a robot into the past then I guess they could just flap some skin over a nuke.

[tyven]

when alice in chains came on the jeep radio i was sold. i thought it was a great movie. generally i think that charlie bartlet kid is a bitch but i liked him as Kyle Reese

[Null]

I like some of the movies he has been in, such as Hearts in Atlantis. But as a person something just makes me not like him. Such as the hat he always wears in interviews.

[ZarakiKujata]

Not sure how a time travel device could distinguish between organic and inorganic matter, it's all the same fundamental stuff.

I guess I never caught that statement, but it's pretty ridiculous.

Kyle says it to Sarah about midway thru Terminator 1. But why else did you think Kyle and the Terminators always time travel naked? Or in the pilot of T:SCC John, Sarah and River Tam all nude up after they warp? This is something Cameron laid out 25 years ago even if it doesnt make much sense. They also paid homage to this by having the T-Marcus be naked too the first time we see him.

[Eticket]

Same thing I've always wondered. But hey, if they could get a robot into the past then I guess they could just flap some skin over a nuke.

in the comics the terminators have travelled with human mules. they surgically implant weapons in them and then tear them out once they travel.

[shiarua]

Seriously a fucking badass movie.

Plot was pretty good imo. Didnt go too in depth, so it wasnt confusing. Possibly was only confusing if you havent seen the first 3. It was nice an simple which made it a great leeway for all the amazing action. The CG was great and the sound was great to boot.

Spoiler: show

The raid/bombing of the Skynet research facility was fucking incredible. This opening scene for the movie kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I dont think I blinked once.

[Norelco]

To answer Neosutra's questions...

Cameron pretty much f'd up the Terminator timeline when he made T2. That's really all you need to know. Anything that happened after your first question is pretty much made up bullshit to generate dollars.

There only should have been a Terminator movie and that was it.

[Tyr]

Saw the movie yesterday. Like someone before me aptly mentioned, for some summer movies, you throw "reason and logic out the door," but in my opinion, it has to make you reasonably suspend your disbelief (i.e. LOST if you continually watch). When a show/movie loses any semblance of reality, even if "reality" is defined within its own paradigm, I lose interest.

In my opinion, the movie felt very rushed, and it was obvious as on three occasions, I turned to my compatriots and told them about how the editing was poor (sound or video, on multiple occasions).

I can't stand it when they show a huge machine that can easily destroy bones in seconds, barely dent Conner's skin whatsoever. Machine, you're not that stupid or poorly built, just grab some part of his body and crush him...

But more importantly, I didn't at all understand why the machines chose not to kill Kyle Reese...It wasn't that they were just trying to lure Conner, because:
1) If you kill Reese, you kill Conner (based on what Batman says)
2) Reese was #1 on the kill list

Why take him to a camp? On a number of occasions, he was identified...just off the guy.

Also, time traveling needed some explanation...in T1/T2, they could time travel - why couldn't they just do that again?

The girl who digs Marcus, I forget her name (her real name is Moon Bloodgood, how sick of a name is that?) was so unbelievably annoying. The whole "omgad i lav hemz" had me extremely pissed off...the sappy scenes were too much for me to handle, and very unbelievable. My heartstrings weren't tugged at at all...

On the brightside, yay Batman. If you want to see Bale in a film with better action, but just as poor a plot (poorly made movie revolving around a [post-apocalyptic] dystopia), watch Equilibrium. The gun-fights are shweet.

[Norelco]

I hope there is a director's cut released b/c I hear over 30 minutes was left on the cutting room floor. It might help the plot a little bit.

[Null]

Also, time traveling needed some explanation...in T1/T2, they could time travel - why couldn't they just do that again?

The movie was about the future war. What would be the reason to include Time Travel. Besides, this movie takes place over a decade before the others (sounds strange don't it?). So its possible the humans don't have it yet. It very well couldn't have been invented yet or the robots most likely made it and they haven't overtaken the base they have it in.

[Yvonne]

Watched it and enjoyed so I don't see what the problem is. If you want a movie to not take anything seriously and throw in random "haha" jokes watch Transformers. Much much MUCH better than the 3rd movie and I liked the

Spoiler: show

Arnold cameo terminator

. The DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN seemed overused but it came in at the right moments.

That cameo did it for me. I smiled.

[Ragnell]

Anyone find it fun John didnt die from an infection after the heart transplant, they was all so fucking dirty, in a windy and dusty area.

I liked it as a action movie, not a terminator flick